Toledo

TOLEDO remains one of Spain’s great cities. Redolent of past glories, it is packed with memorable sights – hence the whole city’s status as a National Monument and UNESCO Patrimony of Mankind – and enjoys an incomparable setting, a landscape of abrasive desolation and on a rocky mound where every available inch has been built upon: churches, synagogues, mosques and houses are heaped upon one another in a haphazard, cobblestoned spiral.

Be aware, however, that the extraordinary number of day-trippers can take the edge off what was once the most extravagant of Spanish experiences. To see the city at its best, it is advisable to avoid peak holiday periods and stay at least a night: a day-trip will leave you hard pressed to see everything. More importantly, in the evening with the crowds gone and the city lit up by floodlights – resembling one of El Greco’s moonlit paintings – Toledo is a different place entirely.